Tumukunde ruling delays
Aug 17, 2006
FOR about eight hours yesterday, the former Internal Security Organisation chief, Brig. Henry Tumukunde, awaited his fate at the General Court Martial in Makindye in vain.
By Alfred Wasike
and Maurice Okore
FOR about eight hours yesterday, the former Internal Security Organisation chief, Brig. Henry Tumukunde, awaited his fate at the General Court Martial in Makindye in vain.
The former 4th division commander based in Gulu was tried for abuse of office, an offence he allegedly committed between November 2000 and November 2001 when he failed to ascertain the strength or number of troops under his command.
This case is related to the creation of ghost soldiers on the army payroll.
Tumukunde was also tried for causing the loss of sh300m by inflating the payroll with 650 ghost soldiers, neglecting his duty and disobedience of lawful orders to appear on October 12, 2003 before Lt. Gen. David Tinyefuza’s probe committee that uncovered the scam.
He was, however, cleared of all other charges except that for abuse of office.
If acquitted of abuse of office, Tumukunde will still remain with the charge of spreading harmful propaganda, whose hearing date is yet to be fixed.
A few minutes after 5:00pm, the army court’s spokesperson, Col. John Mateeka, told journalists and Tumukunde’s relatives, “Ladies and gentlemen, the chairman (Gen. Elly Tumwine) was summoned by the President to State House early in the morning and has just rang to say that he is unable to deliver our judgement today. He will deliver it next Thursday.â€
Tumukunde, dressed in the UPDF brown and green fatigues, was led out of the cells a few minutes after Mateeka left.
Tumukunde said it was a bad decision to delay the verdict in his case for another week.
“How do you work to make others loose faith and hope in the law? If you can sit here from 9:00am to 5:00pm without food and someone calls at closure time to say he cannot make it due to other duties, that means there is no law,†he said.
“I am here to seek justice but if there is no law and order, what next?†the officer asked as he boarded a military police jeep back to prison at the Senior Officers mess in Kololo.
Tumukunde arrived at the Court Martial at 10:47am to receive the judgment in his case that was heard in camera from June 25, 2004 up to about two weeks ago.
Escorted by eight military police officers, Tumukunde had water for lunch, as he chatted with his lawyers inside the court cells.
A calm atmosphere hang about the court premises as Tumukunde, his lawyers Oscar Kambona and McDusman Kabega, relatives and sympathisers waited for the verdict in vain.
and Maurice Okore
FOR about eight hours yesterday, the former Internal Security Organisation chief, Brig. Henry Tumukunde, awaited his fate at the General Court Martial in Makindye in vain.
The former 4th division commander based in Gulu was tried for abuse of office, an offence he allegedly committed between November 2000 and November 2001 when he failed to ascertain the strength or number of troops under his command.
This case is related to the creation of ghost soldiers on the army payroll.
Tumukunde was also tried for causing the loss of sh300m by inflating the payroll with 650 ghost soldiers, neglecting his duty and disobedience of lawful orders to appear on October 12, 2003 before Lt. Gen. David Tinyefuza’s probe committee that uncovered the scam.
He was, however, cleared of all other charges except that for abuse of office.
If acquitted of abuse of office, Tumukunde will still remain with the charge of spreading harmful propaganda, whose hearing date is yet to be fixed.
A few minutes after 5:00pm, the army court’s spokesperson, Col. John Mateeka, told journalists and Tumukunde’s relatives, “Ladies and gentlemen, the chairman (Gen. Elly Tumwine) was summoned by the President to State House early in the morning and has just rang to say that he is unable to deliver our judgement today. He will deliver it next Thursday.â€
Tumukunde, dressed in the UPDF brown and green fatigues, was led out of the cells a few minutes after Mateeka left.
Tumukunde said it was a bad decision to delay the verdict in his case for another week.
“How do you work to make others loose faith and hope in the law? If you can sit here from 9:00am to 5:00pm without food and someone calls at closure time to say he cannot make it due to other duties, that means there is no law,†he said.
“I am here to seek justice but if there is no law and order, what next?†the officer asked as he boarded a military police jeep back to prison at the Senior Officers mess in Kololo.
Tumukunde arrived at the Court Martial at 10:47am to receive the judgment in his case that was heard in camera from June 25, 2004 up to about two weeks ago.
Escorted by eight military police officers, Tumukunde had water for lunch, as he chatted with his lawyers inside the court cells.
A calm atmosphere hang about the court premises as Tumukunde, his lawyers Oscar Kambona and McDusman Kabega, relatives and sympathisers waited for the verdict in vain.